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| English: Map of the Letters of Galatia (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
In
the first entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on Galatians, I
discussed introductory matters concerning the founding of the churches to the
Galatians, the situation when Paul wrote to them, when the letter might have
been written and the type of letters which Paul wrote, based on the common
Greco-Roman letters of his day. In
the second post, I considered the basic content and breakdown of a Pauline
letter. I noted the major sections of the formal letter structure and, in the
context of each section, outlined the theological and ethical (as well as
other) concerns of Paul, including some Greek words which will be examined more
fully as we continue with the commentary.
In this, the third entry, I will look at the salutation,
which is long for Paul’s corpus (only Romans 1:1-7 is longer) and briefly
comment on the lack of a Thanksgiving, the only letter of Paul’s which does not
have one.
4. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians
a) Salutation (1:1-5):
1
Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities,
but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2
and all the members of God's family who are with me, To the
churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present
evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory
forever and ever. Amen. (NRSV)
The salutation to
the Galatians is one of Paul’s longest and most in-depth openings. There is a simple
reason for this: Paul is at pains to defend himself and his apostleship and he
comes out swinging rhetorically. He begins by announcing his apostleship and
then shielding this apostleship from attack by claiming that he is “sent
neither by human commission nor from human authorities” (1:1). The Greek is
even more powerful, I think, than the English translation, as Paul states
simply that he is an apostle “not from (any) human (ouk ap’ anthrôpôn) nor through a human (oude di’ anthrôpou).” Paul is an apostle through the divine calling
of Jesus Christ and God. From the start, that is, Paul stakes his claim, which
is under attack in this letter, that he is an apostle. Even though he was not
chosen by the earthly Christ, Paul says he was chosen by the risen Christ.
It is also clear that
Paul is defending himself and his ministry not that of his co-workers. He indicates
no co-author in this letter – this is Paul’s fight – though he is not alone
(1:2). Paul mentions after his initial defense of his apostleship “all the
brothers (and sisters) with me” (adelphoi,
which technically is “brothers,” but Paul worked with many women also, so even
though all of his co-authors are male, it is best to keep open that his co-workers
here could include women). The fact that Paul is with others is important to
stress because Paul is sometimes still portrayed as a sort of “lone apostle,” a
gun slinging apostle moving from town to town, Clint Eastwood-like, trying to
leave his past behind him as he saunters into yet another one-donkey town,
preaching a Gospel he himself concocted. In fact, Paul is a man of the Church
and he works well, if intensely and single-mindedly, with others.
Paul addresses this
letter to the churches, plural, of Galatia, though he does not, as with many of
his letters, name them “beloved by God” (e.g., Romans 1:7) or call on them to
be “holy” (e.g., 1 Corinthians 1:2). The unadorned address might just be that
or it might be evidence of his frustration with the churches in Galatia. I
believe it is a purposeful omission indicating Paul’s irritation with the
behavior of the Galatian churches.
The simplicity of
the address to the churches is matched by the long grace of the salutation,
which is unusual for Paul (1:3). Compare the grace here for instance to that in
1 Thessalonians 1:1 (“grace to you and peace”); while Galatians has “grace to
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul goes on to
describe the salvific nature of Jesus Christ’s actions in the salutation. Paul designates
Jesus as the one “who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present
evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (1:4). This is an
important statement for the entire letter, for in it Paul is establishing the
significance of his apostolic call – it came from the one who “gave himself for
our sins” - but even more he is establishing the need to focus on Christ alone,
through God the father, as the source of salvation for all, the one who “set us
free from the present evil age.” Whatever Paul’s bona fides as an apostle, his authority rests on the call of Jesus
Christ, who is the savior of all and “to whom be the glory forever and ever.
Amen” (1:5). Paul must work to establish his authority, but he is constantly at
pains to stress that any authority he has is from God, not his own doing (or
anyone else’s).
b) Thanksgiving (?):
For those familiar
with the Greco-Roman letter format or Paul’s letters in general, it is a shock
that no Thanksgiving appears in this letter, the only letter of Paul’s in which
it is lacking. Again, I think that Paul
is so upset with the churches in Galatia that he would prefer not to offer a
Thanksgiving, though it is possible that he just wants to get down to
theological business. It does not make a lot of sense, however, to omit the Thanksgiving
unless Paul has been so offended by the Galatians that he cannot muster the
desire to offer them recognition for the good they have done or the manner in
which they have lived the Christian life. Paul wants to get to work because he
cannot offer any thanks on their behalf, which gives us a profound sense of how
frustrated he is with the churches in Galatia.
Next entry, we examine the opening of the body of the letter
when Paul jumps straight into the theological fray.
John W. Martens
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This entry is cross-posted at
America Magazine The Good Word
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